


that's not my name

by nebulaeous (persimmontree)



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, barista!au, slow burn? who is she
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-06
Updated: 2020-07-06
Packaged: 2021-03-04 17:33:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25100188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/persimmontree/pseuds/nebulaeous
Summary: The barista at the local coffee shop never seems to call Sasha's name right.
Relationships: Sasha James/Tim Stoker
Comments: 3
Kudos: 35





	that's not my name

Sasha goes to the local coffee shop every day, at exactly 7:30 AM, and orders a large caramel macchiato with 4 shots of caffeine. The baristas here know her order as soon as they see her weary face and faster than she had entered, she leaves with her drink, prepared for the troubles of the day.

Today is no different. She gives the cashier her order and waits by the exit, watching the ever- growing line worm its way through the rope dividers.

Her watchful eyes spot a new person amongst their ranks. He’s wearing an incredibly loud Hawaiian t-shirt, the bright coral-colored flowers assaulting her vision, under the standard green apron. He’s shaking a light brown liquid in the container that Sasha immediately recognizes as her drink. He doesn’t quite make it right; adds in three shots instead of four and the mixture isn’t exactly what she would call homogenous, but it’s good enough.

He pours it into her cup, raises it, and yells: “Sarah!”

Sasha blinks. At first, she must have mistaken her drink for someone else’s but no one around her is retrieving it, but when she approaches the counter, her name is clearly written - in very distinguishable letters she adds – and knows that _he_ has made a mistake.

She opens her mouth to reprimand him but stops herself. She has much more important things to do than correct an insolent barista.

* * *

The next morning, Sasha comes into the coffee shop. The morning’s chill instantly dissipates as soon as she enters, and Sasha loosens the scarf around her neck. She gives her order, as always, and again notices the same barista from yesterday, wearing a different, but equally obnoxious Hawaiian shirt.

 _How many of those does he have in his closet, anyway?_ She thinks.

She watches carefully as the cashier writes her name in bold sharpie and concludes that it is sufficiently clear enough so that the offending barista can read it. As she walks over to the counter, she catches a glance of his name tag. Tim. So that’s his name.

At least he adds in four shots of caffeine this time, but he doesn’t shake it enough so that all its components are equally distributed.

“Susan!” he calls.

 _Susan?_ Reluctantly, Sasha looks around and sees that no one picks up the drink.

She snatches it off the counter and sends a withering glare in Tim’s direction. Tim, unfortunately, catches it and replies with a cocky grin. Why are his teeth so bright?

Before they have a chance to say anything to each other, someone calls his name and passes him several plastic cups. Right. Off to work then.

* * *

This dance continues for the next week and each time, Tim calls her a different name.

“Sally!”

“Montana!”

“Sandra!”

On this day, Sasha spits out, “my name is Sasha, not Sandra, not Sarah, not Sally, not any other ridiculous name you have called me!

Tim turns around, this time shaking a bright red drink. She notices that his fingers are quite long and slender, similar to his figure. He looks at her with an annoyed expression, then with a look of recognition, his eyebrows raising slightly. “Oh! It’s you from the other day.” He gives her the same grin. “Didn’t I say that though?”

“No. That’s not my name,” she says through gritted teeth. “You said Sandra.”

“Oh, really? I could’ve sworn I said your name.” He shrugs as he pours the drink into a cup and caps it. “I promise I’ll get it right next time, _Sasha._ ”

Unlike the rest of his words, he said her name rather delicately and without a hint of irony. The syllables roll off his tongue like they are meant to be there. For a second, Sasha’s anger dissipates and is replaced with a fleeting fondness; he says her name so naturally that she thinks that he must have said it before.

She shakes her head in exasperation and thanks Tim for his consideration. She takes a sip of her drink and finds that it’s made perfectly and despite the mounting work she has for her classes, her thoughts still return to him.

* * *

Tim does indeed keep his promise and calls her by her name the next morning.

“About time you remembered!” she says, leaning on the counter.

“Of course! How can I forget a face like that?” He winks and Sasha simultaneously wants to vomit and laugh. It’s all so cloying and – and she loves it.

She feels heat rise to her cheeks in spite of herself, though she refuses to let him win. Is it just her, or does she now find the shirts he wears endearing? They fit him so well.

Sasha peels her eyes off him and regrettably makes her way toward the exit. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“And the next days after that.” He waves her off. “See ya!”

Sasha walks away from the coffee shop and into the brisk air. She turns the cup around in her hands, letting it warm her skin, but when she does, a slip of paper falls out.

She picks it up and unfolds it. Written in scrawling handwriting are the words _Call me?_ and a phone number.

She does indeed call it and now, he doesn’t call her anything but Sasha. 


End file.
